Supply image for free? Hmmm let me think....

I have a request for one of my image to be used on magazine yesterday. This will include use in their International editions of the magazine and digital/newsstand version. So, I asked about payment / reward, and this is their reply:
"Great to hear from you! In this instance, as we are showcasing your image in our gallery section, we are in effect promoting you and your photography with your permission, so we do not offer payment to do this. We are not commissioning you as a contributor to make the image or asking you to write a step by step tutorial describing how you created this image, we are featuring your work within the magazine purely to promote you, so as I mentioned we do not offer payment to do this."
Hmmmm..... I wonder how I should reply politely....

I have a request for one of my image to be used on magazine yesterday. This will include use in their International editions of the magazine and digital/newsstand version. So, I asked about payment / reward, and this is their reply:

"Great to hear from you! In this instance, as we are showcasing your image in our gallery section, we are in effect promoting you and your photography with your permission, so we do not offer payment to do this. We are not commissioning you as a contributor to make the image or asking you to write a step by step tutorial describing how you created this image, we are featuring your work within the magazine purely to promote you, so as I mentioned we do not offer payment to do this."

[quote]We are not commissioning you as a contributor to make the image or asking you to write a step by step tutorial describing how you created this image[/quote]
Politely tell them, If and or when the above becomes an applicable contract, You might consider their generous offer and discuss fee's.
For promotion purposes you are already adequately catered for by [link=http://www.saatchi.co.uk/]Saachi & Saachi[/link] but thank you for your kind offer.....:D
LOL....:) It pays to be polite....;)

Quote:We are not commissioning you as a contributor to make the image or asking you to write a step by step tutorial describing how you created this image

Politely tell them, If and or when the above becomes an applicable contract, You might consider their generous offer and discuss fee's.

For promotion purposes you are already adequately catered for by Saachi & Saachi but thank you for your kind offer.....

I bet they send such requests out to hundreds of people, knowing that some are daft enough to actually let them use the shots for nowt.
tell them to give you a life time subscription on the basis that you'll "promote" it to your mates... i.e. show it to them once ;-)

I bet they send such requests out to hundreds of people, knowing that some are daft enough to actually let them use the shots for nowt.

tell them to give you a life time subscription on the basis that you'll "promote" it to your mates... i.e. show it to them once

Magazine's always used to pay for use of photos, even if it was just £10 or a small accessory that they'd done a deal with a sponsor. But times are tough - they are now competing with all the free stuff that's online.
Best option would be to do some compromise - free sub for a year? Quarter page advert to promote your photo sales? Memory card or something that they may have floating around the office. I'd say don't cut your nose off... you never know if you may need them in the future.
It raises some interesting points for discussion.
Is having a photo in a printed magazine any different to having it in an online resource, be it facebook, ePHOTOzine, flickr etc?
Will the promotion in a magazine give you better results?
Should you be paying them for exposure? An advertiser would have to.
Should they be paying you?
Do celebs going on chat shows such as Jonathon Ross or The One Show get payment, or do they just appear for free because it's part of the package of promotion? Or do they get paid? Note that they always have a latest film, CD, or book to discuss.

Magazine's always used to pay for use of photos, even if it was just £10 or a small accessory that they'd done a deal with a sponsor. But times are tough - they are now competing with all the free stuff that's online.

Best option would be to do some compromise - free sub for a year? Quarter page advert to promote your photo sales? Memory card or something that they may have floating around the office. I'd say don't cut your nose off... you never know if you may need them in the future.

It raises some interesting points for discussion.

Is having a photo in a printed magazine any different to having it in an online resource, be it facebook, ePHOTOzine, flickr etc?

Will the promotion in a magazine give you better results?

Should you be paying them for exposure? An advertiser would have to.

Should they be paying you?

Do celebs going on chat shows such as Jonathon Ross or The One Show get payment, or do they just appear for free because it's part of the package of promotion? Or do they get paid? Note that they always have a latest film, CD, or book to discuss.

TBH, I don't really care how much the payment is or what reward it is.
I have supplied a couple of times to other magazines for memory cards only, which I am happy with as I do understand it is not easy for that industry.
But to ask for free, and makes it sounds like I should be grateful for them to even consider me, I would have to pass on that. Though, I am not going to be rude.
Those are pretty interesting questions, Pete, which is why I posted it here.

TBH, I don't really care how much the payment is or what reward it is.
I have supplied a couple of times to other magazines for memory cards only, which I am happy with as I do understand it is not easy for that industry.
But to ask for free, and makes it sounds like I should be grateful for them to even consider me, I would have to pass on that. Though, I am not going to be rude.

Those are pretty interesting questions, Pete, which is why I posted it here.

I've tried the "swap photo for a 1/2 page ad" exchange a few times Pete, they either never reply, or worse, say something like "but 1/2 page ads are worth £100....." etc. Which really wins you over... ;-)
one major difference between print and online is linking - if you put stuff on, say, Facebook, you'll add a link to your website (or where ever) - which people may be inclined to click.
in print, you'll still have the web address, but people are less likely to be bothered to "type" in the web address...
also, online you get SEO "google brownie points"

I've tried the "swap photo for a 1/2 page ad" exchange a few times Pete, they either never reply, or worse, say something like "but 1/2 page ads are worth £100....." etc. Which really wins you over...

one major difference between print and online is linking - if you put stuff on, say, Facebook, you'll add a link to your website (or where ever) - which people may be inclined to click.

in print, you'll still have the web address, but people are less likely to be bothered to "type" in the web address...

Normally, I'm in the f**k off camp - though I keep that phrasing to myself and turn down these requests as politely as possible, as it's good not to close doors. However, about a year ago, a magazine contacted me asking if they could feature me in an article they were planning. It would involve giving up a day of my time, and there was no payment. For once, I decided not to turn down the offer, but accepted, pointing out to them that I am a freelance photographer and writer and make a chunk of my living from writing for photography magazines; if I agreed to help out with the feature, perhaps they'd bear me in mind when next commissioning work? A year on, I now have a monthly column with the mag, and regular work reviewing equipment.
So sometimes, doing the free stuff can be of benefit - but it helps if you make it clear what benefits you're expecting, rather than just accepting the nebulous 'we'll promote your images' promise. Perhaps, as Pete suggests, trying to negotiate a quarter page ad would work for you?

Normally, I'm in the f**k off camp - though I keep that phrasing to myself and turn down these requests as politely as possible, as it's good not to close doors. However, about a year ago, a magazine contacted me asking if they could feature me in an article they were planning. It would involve giving up a day of my time, and there was no payment. For once, I decided not to turn down the offer, but accepted, pointing out to them that I am a freelance photographer and writer and make a chunk of my living from writing for photography magazines; if I agreed to help out with the feature, perhaps they'd bear me in mind when next commissioning work? A year on, I now have a monthly column with the mag, and regular work reviewing equipment.

So sometimes, doing the free stuff can be of benefit - but it helps if you make it clear what benefits you're expecting, rather than just accepting the nebulous 'we'll promote your images' promise. Perhaps, as Pete suggests, trying to negotiate a quarter page ad would work for you?

The only time I had decent few pages in a magazine the dozy individuals didn't even manage to put my website address in there which was a tad irritating. At least they paid me.
Nice to have a magazine print a few pages and it made my parents proud :)

The only time I had decent few pages in a magazine the dozy individuals didn't even manage to put my website address in there which was a tad irritating. At least they paid me.

Nice to have a magazine print a few pages and it made my parents proud

[quote] So sometimes, doing the free stuff can be of benefit - but it helps if you make it clear what benefits you're expecting, rather than just accepting the nebulous 'we'll promote your images' promise. Perhaps, as Pete suggests, trying to negotiate a quarter page ad would work for you?[/quote]
Some businesses get all their images free, or nearly so, with a promise of future work. I'll second the wise advice in this quote!
Doesn't it depend on whether we need to make a living from our images?

Quote: So sometimes, doing the free stuff can be of benefit - but it helps if you make it clear what benefits you're expecting, rather than just accepting the nebulous 'we'll promote your images' promise. Perhaps, as Pete suggests, trying to negotiate a quarter page ad would work for you?

Some businesses get all their images free, or nearly so, with a promise of future work. I'll second the wise advice in this quote!

Doesn't it depend on whether we need to make a living from our images?